Working with youth who are homeless, youth who are working hard to overcome life’s challenges, and become independent, and stable, youth who maybe didn’t have a supportive family to come home to, it’s both a reminder of how lucky I am and a reminder that there are so many ways we can make a difference in these kids lives. If I’ve learned anything at all in the 8 years I was marketing and communications manager for SAY, it’s this: our kids need adults in their corner. Adults who won’t give up on them. They need a community to support them. They deserve this, and so much more.

When I started at SAY, the only photos we had were black and white images of sullen kids glaring at a camera. The images were probably stock photos. Used on brochures and online to announce our services. These images didn’t match the hope and determination I saw in our kids. They didn’t match the way I viewed our work. So I got to change that by creating images filled with color. With smiles. With action. I view our youth with a lot of hope for their futures, because that is how they view themselves.

This gallery is just a small sampling of the 15,000+ photos I took over these years. I look back at these photos and have a tremendous amount of love for every single one of these kids. I like to think that that love shows up in my framing, my color choices, my lighting.

Kiddos don’t always want to pay attention to the camera, which is exactly what I love about them, so I had a great time just letting the photo shoot happen exactly how Ethan wanted it – he got to play with mom, and climb a jungle gym, and I just hung back and captured some of the great moments.

Katrina and Hunter are members of the wine club at Truett Hurst so the location was an easy decision. The entire vineyard is gorgeous, from grassy fields and an old barn, to a gorgeous river view and a delicate flower garden. I loved Katrina’s cowboy boots and hat; and Hunter’s whole cowboy-casual look. I heard Katrina’s planning to reuse the boots on her wedding day. Can’t wait to see them!

I had a lot of fun shooting their wedding photos and am so happy that they loved them, too.

It was a great location because there are so many different areas in the park to choose from, so we were able to play with the location a lot. We spent about two hours doing the photo shoot and had a wonderful time. Elly and Joel were up for anything I suggested, and had some shots that they knew they wanted before we went. They were so happy with their pictures, too, which is always a great feeling as a photographer.